Beet Pasta with Creamy Beet Sauce (Vegetarian)
Why I Love This Recipe
The dough is a beautiful vibrant dark pink when you roll it out, but a lot of the color is lost when you cook it. Not sure what would solve this except some food coloring, but the light pink pasta was still pretty to look at and very tasty. It's complimented by a creamy beet sauce.
Ingredients You'll Need
1 large beet
a little less than 2.5 cups of AP flour
3 extra large eggs
1 tsp olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
3 oz goat cheese
1 small can of tomatoes
green beans (steamed - optional)
toasted walnuts (optional)
Directions
Know in advance that this recipe takes time because of the beet. If you want to cheat, substitute a can of pureed beets or a jar of beet babyfood, but it won't be the same. Start by scrubbing the beet and removing the leaves, but keeping the stem on. Place in pot, cover with water and let it boil until it becomes tender (stick a fork in it to see if its done). If it's a large beet, it's gonna take about an hour. Remove beet from the water and let it cool for a half hour. Slide the skin off and chop into smaller pieces. Puree the mixture in a food processor or blender and let sit in a seive for another hour.
When the beet is drained, make the dough. I used a food processor, but you can do this by hand if you like. It's the same concept. Place the flour in the food processor bowl. In another bowl, combine the eggs, olive oil, salt and 2 tablespoons of beet puree. Start running the food processor and pour the mixture through the slot slowly. A ball should eventually form. If the dough is too dry add a tablespoon of water. The dough should be soft, but not sticky. Take the dough out of the food processor and knead it on a well floured surface until it becomes smooth and elastic. Place in a bowl covered with saran wrap and let sit for at least a half hour.
Finally, the pasta part! Take the dough and break off small piece. Cover the rest of the dough so it doesn't dry out. Flatten the dough until it’s about a centimeter thick and run it through the highest setting of a pasta machine (7 for me). Change the setting to one lower (6) and run again…keep going till about setting 2 and then run the sheet of pasta through the fettuchini setting. Take the strands and place them over the back of a chair or laid flat on a dishtowel and keep making pasta till the dough is done. Place in salted boiling water for 4-5 minutes and drain.
For the sauce:
Place pureed beets, goat cheese, tomatoes and some olive oil in a food processor and puree. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat through when ready to serve and place atop the pasta. This sauce is a crazy fuscia color and all of the elements compliment eachother in a perfect, but strange way. Add string beans and toasted walnuts to complete the meal. Yum!
